Stephen Curry reacts after making a three-pointer during the Golden State Warriors' 110-108 win against the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their first-round series. / Cary Edmondson, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

OAKLAND â?? Seth Curry hadn't come all this way to see his older brother sit in street clothes.

No, the former Duke star who flew in to the Bay Area on Friday morning was here to see the Golden State Warriors' last hope, his sharpshooting sibling Stephen, who would have to carry this day against the Denver Nuggets and so many more to come with David Lee on the shelf. As for all this talk about a left ankle sprain that might have caused him to miss what turned out to be the defining game of his four-year NBA career? Seth, who played most of his senior season with a right leg injury that required surgery two weeks ago in which a metal rod was inserted into his shin area, wasn't having it.

"I told him to suck it up," Seth Curry told USA TODAY Sports after the Warriors downed the Nuggets 110-108 at Oracle Arena to take a 2-1 series lead. "He knows I played all year with an injury. It's a different situation, but I knew he'd do whatever it takes to play."

He didn't just play. He played like the elite player he has become, finishing with 29 points and 11 assists a few hours after his playing status was in question up until tipoff because of the injury suffered in Game 2.

"Everybody falls in love with his ability to shoot the basketball, but that's just part of his game," Jackson told USA TODAY Sports. "He has come such a long way, and he's an elite player in this league. His ability to make plays, his ability to defend. He competes. He's a point guard, and that was a question mark coming into this league. He plays with an edge, and he's carried us."

Curry hit eight of 17 shots, none prettier than two underhanded runners he finessed through the rim midway through the fourth quarter to keep the Nuggets at bay. He hit four of seven from three-point range, which is what one might expect from the player who just broke the single-season record for three-pointers.

But for his father Dell, the NBA marksman from another era who is a television commentator for the Charlotte Bobcats, it was the will to play and the ability to be a playmaker that made him so proud. Curry, who averaged a career-high 6.9 assists during the regular season, is averaging 10 assists and 26 points a game in the series.

"I'm watching him play, and I'm like, 'I know he's hurting, I know he's sore,' but just the competitive spirit, the adrenaline, knowing he's fighting through it," Dell Curry said afterward. "He knows that with David Lee out (because of a torn right hip flexor suffered in Game 1) this team needs him to do whatever he can. It was a courageous effort."

Dell Curry said he never had any doubt that Stephen would play Friday. He was so confident, in fact, he didn't bother to check on his son's status at any point leading up to tipoff.

"A couple buddies of mine texted me and was like, 'Is Steph playing?' " he said. "I was like, 'They're going to have to cut his foot off for him not to play.' I didn't talk to him about his ankle.

"I knew he was going to play. There was no doubt about that, whether his ankle was healthy or not. I told him before the game, I told him that this was the game that I thought would decide the series."

Seth Curry, who will be joining Stephen in the NBA next season, had no doubts his brother would play either.

"He was confident about it," Seth said. "He got back home before he left for the game, and I could just see that he was going to play. He had that confidence. You kind of know when somebody knows they're going to be able to play. That's what I saw.

"He had a wrap on his ankle, had just came back from treatment. He didn't say it, but nobody brought up the fact that he wasn't going to be able to play. There was that confidence."

With Game 4 on Sunday in Oakland, the Warriors' confidence is, with good reason, at an all-time high. And on this most unique stage, the Warriors' first home playoff game since 2007 in what is their second playoff appearance since 1994, Curry and his Warriors continued to capture the attention of the masses.

"It was amazing, from the time we stepped on the court in layups and warm-ups, chanting 'Let's Go Warriors,' and all the yellow shirts and the energy, it was crazy," Stephen Curry said. "It was a great atmosphere, and obviously great to get the win on top of it."